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Book Review | The Christmas Swap by Sandy Barker

⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5)

Inspired by the film The Holiday, three friends (Jules, Chloe and Lucy) decide to switch homes for Christmas and each jet off to experience a different kind of festive celebration. It soon becomes clear that switching countries does not leave all of your problems behind, and the women face some deicions.

This novel was such a fun and festive read and it was perfect Christmas escapism. It was light, wholesome, funny and flirty and I liked the characters as well as the different experiences of Christmas, whether it be in sunny Australia, the English countryside, or Snowy America.

The theme of friendship was really strong in The Christmas Swap and I loved having a group of three women who support and care for each other. I liked all three women, although they are all different, and I think Barker portrayed all of her characters well.

Barker writes the plot cleverly so that there is overlap between the stories of the three women and their narratives were entwined well. Each chapter ends so that you want to know more about that ladies' narrative which means that the pace ends up moving along quite quickly as, for example, when reading about Jukes I wanted to get back to Chloe and Lucy but then Jules' chapter would leave me wanting more!

Something that would have made me enjoy this book more was actually that I wanted more of it. I wanted more romance, maybe more heat, and definitely more of the book. I wanted to spend more time with the ladies (and the couples) to find out more about what happened after the novel ended and just to see more of the romances.

Overall, if you want a fun, festive romance, pick this one up next Christmas (or any time you want, we all need some festive escapism sometimes).

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me and I found myself skimming just to reach the end.

I was just in the mood for an uplifting, festive read when I picked up this book, the news is quite depressing at the moment isn’t it, and what a perfect choice this is for anyone looking for something to warm their cockles and bring a sprinkling of Christmas cheer into their lives. It also addresses one of the burning questions of the age – is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

The book follows three friends who meet on holiday aged eleven and forge a bond that survives over the years, despite the fact they all live on different continents. Fast forward a couple of decades and all of the girls are at some kind of cusp in their lives with issues that need a shake up. Will swapping homes and Christmases for one year provide the catalysts they need to move to the next stage of their lives?

The premise of the book is charming and it works perfectly. Cue the opportunity for the author to transport us to three very different countries for three very different Christmases. In Oxford, Melbourne and Colorado, the three girls are taken in by their friend’s families and find out how the other half does Christmas. Warm beaches, snowy mountains and the English countryside provide the perfect backdrops against which the girls can explore unique Christmas traditions, and maybe make new friends, even of a romantic variety! The author does an absolutely fabulous job of drawing the different environments and transporting the reader there. This book is armchair travel at its most enticing and I felt like I had been transported to the locations in the novel. I defy anyone to come away from reading this book and not wish they could be snow-shoeing through a quiet, Colorado forest or doing a horseback tour of Australian wineries. My passport is itching just thinking about it, especially given my lack of travel this year.

For me, the most compelling thing about this book is the portrayal of the friendship between the three girls. Each of the characters was perfectly drawn and absolutely believable, and the dynamic between them realistic and charming to read. I have two very close groups of female friends who mean the world to me and are the first people I would turn to, in times of trouble and turmoil, but also in times of joy and success. I recognised immediately the workings of the friendship between these women, even went it was sent slightly off track, and it was such a joy to read. I so wanted everything to work out for them, shared their happiness and disappointment throughout and, by the end, I didn’t want to leave their company. I felt like they had become my friends, and I really want to know how things end up for them.

This is a really cheering read with the perfect flavour of Christmas to get you in the mood for the upcoming holiday. I would highly recommend it to all fans of romance looking for a bit of Yuletide cheer. And, as for that burning question at the beginning – is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Of course it is, and that is a hill I am prepared to die on.

This book was like The Holiday but on steroids! Trust me, that’s a good thing. The Holiday is my favourite Christmas rom-com of all time.

If you’re looking for a fun-filled festive book, then this is the book for you! All of Sandy Barker’s books have the feel-good factor and this is no exception.

It’s the perfect Christmassy book for this time of year. Packed with tradition, fabulous characters and festive delights, you’ll want to pick this up and be whisked away.

If you enjoy your books to be full of sweetness and light. If you love The Holiday. Then The Christmas Swap is definitely for you.

I found this such a nice easy, light hearted read. It's a great escape from reality. This is chic lit magnified. Everything you dream of having in a romantic book is heaped into this story.

I read this book as part of the One More Chapter readalong, which is a fantastic opportunity to engage with other fellow like minded readers. It's great to see what everyone else thinks.

The May Ladies and their Christmas Swap

With notes of “the holiday” scattered throughout this is a good Christmassy feeling book. It is sweet and features three separate stories of friends. The search for the perfect Christmas, is it one where you wake up and the ground is covered in snow? A traditional English Christmas with a Christmas fayre included? Or a complete get-away where snow is a distant memory. For Jules, Lucy and Chloe each are hoping for a different type of Christmas and they find the solution in each other and thus a Christmas swap is arranged.
Laughter, tears, gossip, romance and injury all merged into three stories contained in one book. It is a very Christmassy book that allows you to escape into festivities reminiscing or escaping your own Christmas,
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I will note that there are some references to pop culture that some people may or may not like but each to their own.

Thank you to NetGallery for the option to read this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

A lovely romance novel set at Christmas.
3 friends, who live in the UK, US and Australia, swap Christmases.
A really comforting read, a great one to escape with.

Perfect read for Christmas time! Fun concept and light hearted! I really enjoyed it!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange of my review!

This book is about three friends who met on holiday as children and remained good friends when they got older. The friends swap locations for Christmas - one to Colorado, one to England, and one to Australia. They each end up meeting guys they like over Christmas. It’s a Good Christmas story, but it’s a little unrealistic and predictable, and I found the story to be slow-moving in places.

This cheery tale has three house swappers, all friends: one in an Oxfordshire village, one from an Australian beach town, and one high in the Colorado mountains. Great escape in this armchair-travel-only year, following Lucy, Chloe, and Jules as they learn about life, love, and friendship. #TheChristmasSwap

Sandy Barker is a new author to me, but I will be sure to check her other books out given how much I liked this one! . The characters inn this book are so rich and well developed. Each woman's romantic and personal journeys are different and kept me hooked! If you are in search for a Christmas romance with some travel thrown in, this is your book!!

This book started off a little confusing. It was jarring to switch between POVs suddenly each character, but once I got used to it, I enjoyed the story. It feels a little unrealistic but I enjoyed it none the less.

Lifelong friends, Chloe, Jules and Lucy, met in Maui as children and currently live across the globe. This year, they all happen to be single at the same time over Christmas. Because if this, they decide to switch homes for the holiday and each have their own adventures. I really liked each of the stories and adventures these women face. This was a very “feel good” book about life, love and family.

The Christmas Swap was everything I needed from a holiday novel, it had whirlwind romances and a solid friendship group which was easy to read and just … nice.

When three friends meet as kids on holiday, they become friends and keep in touch, often meeting around the globe for holidays. One from the US, one from Australia and one from a sleepy town in the UK. This year they decide they’re tired of their usual christmases so they, you guessed it - they swap!

The book has a simple enough concept and I enjoyed the representation of how christmas can be completely different wherever you are in the world but the most important thing is who you are with (duh). So each of the characters manage to find a hot fella wrapped up in their new christmas, which was cute - one guy was a winemaker (Australia), one a film star (UK) and the last one was the brother (US - drama!).

The Christmas Swap really was a hallmark movie in book form and it was just what I needed to finish 2020 with!

This is a fun Christmasy novel following three friends who swap homes for Christmas and then all fall in love. My favorite characters were actually the two moms in the book.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

This is a lovely festive book to get you into the Christmas spirit! The story is along the lines of the film, The Holiday with swaps taking place in Australia, USA and the UK.

My favourite quote:
"Breakfast for dinner? Will you marry me?"

I wanted The Holiday vibes, and I just didn't get it. I couldn't keep up with all of the side characters, I didn't have feelings towards any of the main ones and I just knew it was the predictable 'they're all going to fall in love'.

I don't mind the predictability if there is a glld build up sorry but there just wasn't sadly.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Christmas Swap is a lighthearted Christmas Womens’ Fiction story with strong romantic elements. Best friends since they met in Hawaii at age eleven, Lucy, Jules, and Chloe have at age thirty-three reached a point in their lives where they feel at a crossroads and are looking to make changes.
They come up with the idea of a Christmas Swap, Australian Chloe will spend Christmas in England with Lucy’s parents. British Lucy will spend Christmas in Colorado with Jules’s family and American Jules will spend Christmas in Melbourne with Chloe’s friends. All three find romance and the answers they’ve been looking for. This was a fun Christmasy novel and I enjoyed reading it this holiday season. Steam level: Closed Door Publishing Date October 16, 2020. #TheChristmasSwap #SandyBarker #OneMoreChapter #HarperCollinsUK #ChristmasReading #WomensFiction #ContemporaryRomance #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #NetGalley

The Christmas Swap by Sandy Barker is about 3 friends, 1 in England, 1 in Australia and 1 in the US who swap their Christmas locations, like in the film The Holiday.

I thought this was a fun read, with added romance, and a lot of Christmas events.  I enjoyed seeing the different ways they celebrated in Australia, Colorado compared to England.

 The Christmas Swap  by Sandy Barker was published on 16th October 2020, and is available to buy from  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Sandy Barker on  Twitter ,  Facebook  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to One More Chapter.

“The Christmas Swap” by Sandy Barker follows a group of three friends who decide to swap Christmas experiences, each leaving their friends and family for the chance to explore another country. Each woman’s Christmas turns out so much better than they could have imagined. They find love, but more importantly they find themselves and who they really want to be.

This book was a great choice for a light holiday read, especially with all the planning, wrapping, baking, and stress that comes with Christmas. Barker creates a fun rom-com experience that has enough drama to keep you hooked, but without the tension I usually enjoy in a thriller. This was a nice switch up!

I think the thing I loved the most about this book was the differences between an American family Christmas, a traditional English Christmas, and a Friends Christmas in Australia. From the food to the dress code, each group had a unique tradition to introduce to us. I also enjoyed the clear Romantic tone of the book. Each woman is matched with a guy from the beginning, so you know it’s just a matter of time before they get together, but how will it come about? Bonus points that this book avoids anything embarrassingly steamy, it definitely made for better reading in my opinion.

Overall, I think this book was a solid 4 star read. It was a little predictable, but it was fun and gave me enough information and drama to keep me hooked. I would have liked to see a little more struggle or challenges within each relationship, things seem to fall easily into place, but also sometimes you need a nice and easy happy ending. Romantic Comedy lovers will definitely enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the ARC of “The Christmas Swap” by Sandy Barker in exchange for my honest review!